“Phonics instruction does not need to be eliminated altogether, but sight word vocabulary needs to be built first.
Then whole words or syllables can be compared and the pattern recognition capacities of the visual-spatial learner can be brought to bear”.

What if the right-brain learner also has attention and eye-tracking issues, in far larger percentages than most people think. Research will tell us exactly what the percentages are, but dyslexia and right-brain learner is very, very common in the population we see.

Then, before embarking on a Multisensory Language Program, one might consider:

– Assessing for right-hemisphere strengths, difficulty with frequently used words and recognizing word patterns, and attention and eye-teaming issues

– Addressing the relevant issues

At 3D Learner, we have found that:

– Many of these students have the right hemisphere strengths long before they struggle with reading. These students often have an uncanny ability to remember places visited, even from years ago and to remember what they have seen and experienced. It would be valuable to prove this with research

– Many right-brain learners need the foundational skills first and their attention and eye-teaming issues addressed, and some do not need a phonics-based program

– Some still need the phonics-based program, but in a number of cases they have made far quicker progress than one would have expected, because they had the relevant

In addition to doing research on the right hemisphere strengths and whether they exist before the reading difficulties are experienced, it may be very helpful to conduct research to see if those with right hemisphere strengths, we call them right-brain learners, would benefit from right-brain programs.

We suspect that research will validate the value of right-brain programs for right-brain learners — and that there are probably many forms of dyslexia — we believe it is very helpful to determine if your child or student:

– Is a right-brain child and do they have attention, eye-teaming or related challenges

– Is a left-brain learner and would benefit from a traditional dyslexia program or dyslexia treatment

The Right Dyslexia Treatment for Your Child

The right dyslexia treatment depends on your child’s profile.

Two parents had similar experiences. One Boca Raton mom read the psychologist report and was confused. The report said that her child was a visual or right-brain learner, but the psychologist had recommended 3 different phonics-based programs. The mom had already invested in an Orton-Gillingham (R) tutor, her son read well, but he did not understand what he read.

Both moms called us and there was a real connection. Like half the kids we see:

– Both had well above normal IQs

– Both learned differently

– Both has both an attention and an eye-teaming issue

– Both kids thought there was something wrong with them

How do we live in a world that is so smart and have so many well trained professionals recommend logical, sequential and auditory programs for kids who learn best when the student sees and experiences information.

Here are 7 key points they miss:

– Right-brain learners need to be taught how to understand sight words and they do it best in a hands-on way

– Right-brain learners need to be taught to recognize visual patterns and they do it best with a 3-dimensional approach

– Eye-teaming issues are not the same as dyslexia but the two occur very frequently in the same child

– Right-brain learners often think there is something wrong with them and boring programs that play to their weakness reinforce that opinion

– Parenting a right-brain learner is far easier when the student is engaged in the process

– Very few people show parents how to be the right coach and advocate for their right-brain learner

At 3D Learner, we are dedicated to helping parents of right-brain learners to be Informed, Empowered and Proactive.

Our first three goals are to:

– Empower you to recognize and enjoy your child’s gifts

– Inform you. Most smart struggling students have a combination of learning differently and eye-teaming, attention or all three challenges

– Be proactive. Most smart struggling right-brain learners will struggle for years — and may go through multiple dyslexia treatments or dyslexia programs, many psychologists, a number of medications and far too many nights where your child and you battle through homework.

There is a far better way.

Mira Halpert, the developer of the 3D Learner Program (R), has written a book for you — ‘Life is a Ball, Do Not Put Me in a Box” – you can download and read in less than 20 minutes — and it is written in Dr. Seuss prose

Mira has put together a Success Assessment that can help you to screen for whether your child is a right-brain learner and whether your child appears to have an attention and/or eye-teaming issue

Then we offer a no cost consult

You can access the book and the assessment at no cost by going to www.3dlearner.com

1- That the definition of dyslexia does not include visual processing nor should it. However, we do check every student for visual processing issues, because visual processing issues exist in over 70% of the students we see, with many being very significant issues.

2- We do refer many students for vision training and it makes what we do far more effective. Not only have we had hundreds of students who have made significant gains with our training and vision therapy, we know other professionals who say the same thing and have met hundreds of parents whose children have benefited from vision therapy.

We have also had cases where a student with dyslexia had been through several dyslexia programs and their comprehension was several years below grade level.

We understand the dyslexia community focuses on phonics and phonemic awareness, but we tend to look at the whole child.

Consider the following issues:

– Learning style

– Sight word vocabulary or what we call frequently used word vocabulary

– Recognizing words previously seen and not mastered

– Visual processing or eye teaming issues

– Attention

– How long various programs take

More than half the students we see learn differently and have an attention and an eye-teaming issues. Furthermore, dyslexia and attention and vision issues often co-exist.

Many students with dyslexia are visual-spatial learners who learn best when a student sees and experiences information. These students learn from whole to part and often find that traditional dyslexia programs are very frustrating for them. We believe a dyslexia program is an option, but so is a holistic program that teaches your child the way he or she learns and identifies and addresses the relevant issues.

As Dr. Linda Silverman wrote in her book “Upside Down Brilliance”
“Phonics instruction does not need to be eliminated altogether, but sight word vocabulary needs to be built first. Then whole words or syllables can be compared and the pattern recognition capacities of the visual-spatial learner can be brought to bear”.

We agree phonics is important, but we also believe that it is very important to address frequently used word vocabulary and pattern recognition skills

Attention is another critical condition that is not included in the definition of dyslexia, but is often present in the student with dyslexia.

How long various programs take. We have heard Wilson (R) providers say the program takes three years and that is hard to argue with — because the program is laid out to take three years. Our goal is to have students go from Stress to Success in Months and not Years

When we recognized that dyslexia and attention and vision issues often co-exist in the same child. we realized it is best to address them all in an integrated way

We find that the smarter students with dyslexia can succeed in months and not years if one assesses and addresses the relevant problems and teaches the student the way the student learns best and identifies and addresses his or her challenges.

Success by Third Grade will significantly improve your child’s chances for success in school and in life.

Does your child remember details from places visited, even from years ago?

Does your child learn best when he or she sees and experiences information?

Is your child’s reading comprehension not consistent with how smart your child is?

If these questions described your child — there is a good chance your child is a visual-experiential learner, who learns best when your child sees and experiences information. We also call these students visual-spatial learners.

3rd grade retention is a real risk for visual-spatial learners and Success by 3rd Grade is a game changer for the visual-spatial learner.

There are seven key challenges that make Success by Third Grade elusive for the visual-spatial learner — whether your child is gifted, a smart struggling student or a student with dyslexia or a learning disability:

– A challenge with frequently used words — articles like this one that focuses on Decodable words Vs. Sight Words that takes the position sight words or frequently used words do not have meaning — creating a meaning for these words is a critical part of what we do

– Recognizing words your child has previously seen and not mastered

– Difficulty visualizing what your child reads — which is often a challenge when they are hyper-focused on decoding

– Skipping words and lines when reading – in this article on Dyslexia and Vision Processing there appears to be a distinction between dyslexia and vision processing issues. We have found it far better to treat the problems with words and the visual processing challenges with an integrated approach

– Attention issues are also common for the visual-spatial learner

– Working memory and processing speed issues are common too;

– Programs often focus on helping a child, but rarely do — we see parent training as an integral part of the equation

Assessments at school will often lead to a traditional phonics-based program — that often does not work for the visual-spatial learner — who often needs help with the frequently used words, recognizing words, attention and/or visual processing before phonics will work

We take a very different approach to Success by Third Grade

1- The problem is often obvious in 1st grade and is persistent — if not addressed it continues indefinitely

3- Work with professionals who specialize in children who learn like your child, will help the whole child and will help you to be the coach and advocate your child needs

To help parents and professionals, we have written a short and informative book Success by 3rd Grade.

We have also created a webpage that further describes the challenges; offers and assessment to see if your child is a visual-spatial learner and screens for both an attention challenge and eye-teaming issues; and offer a no cost download of our book Success by 3rd Grade

If you have a child with dyslexia or a learning disability you may have heard that:

– For a child with dyslexia, it will take years to get your child back to grade level

– If your child just worked harder they would succeed

The first comment is often true with traditional dyslexia programs. By design, the programs often takes years to complete.

As for the second comment, research shows that is not true. Research shows that:

– Almost 90 percent of the first graders with a word identification problem will be poor readers in 4th grade

– Over 70 percent of the 3rd graders with a reading disability (dyslexia) will still have a reading disability (dyslexia) in 12th grade

Here are 6 reasons why 3D Learner is often able to help students beat dyslexia in months and not years:

1- We recognize most dyslexia students learn best when the student sees and experiences information. These students need to learn how to master the frequently used words (what, but, if, except etc.) and to recognize words they have seen and not mastered

2- Eye teaming is often an issue — which is why dyslexic students often skip words and lines when reading. We screen for and address eye teaming issues — often in combination with the right specialist

3- Attention is often an issue — dyslexic students can often hyper focus on that which interests them and easily lose focus when they do not — we address this issue

4- The students often lack the self-esteem and self-advocacy skills and we teach them how to improve both

5- Parents are often baffled by conflicting assessments, programs and how to work effectively with their child’s school. We treat helping parents as an integral part of the effort

6- We integrate this all into one effective program

7- Our focus is on Success in Months and Not Years

For more information on how to help your child go to www.3dlearner.com

The challenge is that the same symptoms describe a visual-spatial learner, who has both an attention and an eye-teaming issue.

With the dyslexia diagnosis, Matthew then went through $40k of Dyslexia Programs. One a very expensive Dyslexia Program and one a relatively inexpensive dyslexia program.

The seven big challenges included:

– He still did not understand the frequently used words (e.g. what, but, what, if, etc.)

– He still did not recognize words he has seen and not mastered

These two points need to be addressed before phonics will work

– He still skipped words and lines when reading

– He still had difficulty paying attention to that which is boring – as his attention issue was not addressed

– His reading comprehension was now 3 years below grade level

– Homework took too long and his parents were always reteaching what he should have learned in class

– Matthew’s self-esteem was lower than ever before and trending in the wrong direction.

There are three very different worlds:

– Those who see a struggling child and described the student by what they cannot do and label them with dyslexia

– Those who see a visual-spatial learner, realize the student needs a hands-on approach

– Those who see the whole visual-spatial learner and realize one needs to capitalize on the student’s strengths, identify and address the student’s challenges and help the parent to be the coach and advocate their child needs.

The vast majority of students we see who have been diagnosed with dyslexia are visual-spatial learners who often have an attention and/or an eye-teaming issue.

Here are two pages for more information. The first for students in 3rd grade or below and the second for students in 4th grade and above

Mary read various lists of dyslexia symptoms and was convinced her child had dyslexia.

She went to her child’s school and wanted a Dyslexia Test for her child.

The school said they did not test for dyslexia.

Mary went to a psychologist, presented the symptoms of dyslexia her child had, and the testing confirmed dyslexia.

She tried two different dyslexia programs and her child’s reading improved. Unfortunately, her child’s reading comprehension was behind grade level. Then she had her child’s reading comprehension tested and in 5th grade, he was now 3 years below grade level.

– Does your child not recognize words previously seen and not mastered?

– Does your child skip words and lines when reading?

– Does your child do OK on short passages and do much worse on passages of 5oo words or more?

Mary was very surprised by these questions — her child had the first three issues (small words, word recognition and skipping words and lines when reading), but her child also did not understand a one line math word problem.

Mary was concerned before the 2014-15 school year started and was confused by new Florida State Standards and what she sees coming — the new Florida Standards Assessments.

Initially, Mary was delighted that the Common Core Standards were not going to be implemented in Florida. Now she realized the new Florida State Standards are virtually identical to the Common Core Assessments.

What went wrong:

– Dyslexia is a broad term that some have narrowed down to a problem with reading that results in a problem with phonics, phonemic awareness, reading fluency, vocabulary and reading comprehension

– When you define a problem so specifically, then you limit the dyslexia programs your child needs to those that address these issues

– Students with dyslexia often learn differently. They are often visual-spatial learners. A visual-spatial learner often needs to master frequently used word vocabulary and word recognition before phonics will work,.

– A visual-spatial learner is more likely to have an eye-teaming issue that often leads to both skipping words and lines when reading, and may lead to confusion and reading avoidance

Mary was surprised by 3 things:

1- Her child could and did qualify for an IEP (Individual Education Plan) because he had a Specific Learning Disability

2- His reading fluency, how well her child read, was on grade level, but his reading comprehension was 3 years below grade level

3- Her child was a visual-spatial learner — and no one had ever questioned if her child learned differently

4- Her child did skip words and lines when reading

5- Her child was delighted to realize that he learned differently and had some of the same attributes as Einstein, Edison and Disney

To see if your child is a visual-spatial learner and whether your child has an eye-teaming issue go to www.3dlearner.com

The Symptoms of Dyslexia given by this NCLD (National Center for Learning Disabilities) describes some of the same characteristics we find in students who learn differently — who we call visual-spatial learners. Lets compare the two for school age children:

Dyslexia SymptomsVisual-spatial Learner

Trouble with Difficulty with

Mastering the rules of spelling Spelling the way the student is taught

Remembering facts and numbers Remembering facts and numbers the way the student is taught

Handwriting or gripping a pencil Not dyslexia, but an eye-teaming and/or motor planning issue

Learning new skills Learning skills they cannot relate to or experience

Reversals or skipping words and lines An eye-teaming issues

Following a sequence Following a sequence they cannot visualize

Trouble with word problems Trouble with word problems because they do not understand the

frequently used words they cannot visualize

Traditional dyslexia programs focus on phonics, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, reading fluency, and reading comprehension using an approach that works on understanding the sound symbol relationship. Experts will tell you a Dyslexia Program may take 90 minutes of hard work a day for 1 to 3 years

We look at the same student and often see a visual-spatial learner, who needs to understand the meaning of frequently used words, to be able to recognize words previously seen but not mastered and to work on eye-teaming so they see words and numbers correctly and read smoothly — and do not skip words and/or lines when reading

For an assessment that looks at whether your child may be a visual-spatial learner and have eye-teaming challenges visit 3D Learner

Dr. Sally Shawitz is considered a leading expert on dyslexia. Recently she testified to Congress on Dyslexia and here is Dr. Shaywitz on Dyslexia.

We see Dyslexia very differently.

Dr. Shaywitz was speaking at the Miami Childrens Museum a few years ago. She was pointed out that the non Dyslexic Brain lights up in 3 spots on the left side of the brain, while the dyslexic brain lights up in only one part of the left brain and two parts of the right-brain. The right-brain is responsible for visualization and problem solving.

Dr. Shaywitz drove home the point that a student with Dyslexia needs 90 minutes a day of research based training every day for 1 to 3 years for their brain to work like a non dyslexic brain. A principal leaned over my shoulder and said, “She’s nuts”.

I then went up to Dr. Shaywitz at the end of the lecture and asked if she knew a Jewish person who could read Hebrew, but did not understand what they read.

Both her Sally and her husband Bennett raised their hands.

Dr. Sally Shaywitz quickly fired back, “That is true in Hebrew but not in English”

Her husband commented, “Sally, you didn’t really say that did you”.

We know that there are a ton of dyslexia programs that drive home phonics. phonemic awareness and some that do not let a student move on till they have mastered a skill.

While this approach works with some, it does not recognize a few things:

– Most students with dyslexia learn differently. They are often visual-spatial learners, who learn best when the student sees and experiences information. These visual-spatial learners have difficulty understanding the frequently used words (e.g why, but, what, if etc.) that do not generate a picture and recognizing words they have seen but not mastered

– Visual-spatial learners often need to master the meaning of the frequently used words and pattern recognition skills before phonics will work

– A visual-spatial learner often skips words and lines when reading. Dyslexia is not an eye-teaming issue, but eye-teaming issues exist in a large percentage of students with dyslexia

– Same for attention issues — most students with dyslexia have an attention issue

If you have a child with dyslexia, see if they are a visual-spatial learner and if your child has an eye teaming and/or an attention issue.

Dyslexia programs often claim they are multisensory — but they are rarely hands-on programs that focus on the frequently used words vocabulary, word recognition, identifying and addressing both eye teaming and attention issues, and they often do not help you to be the coach and advocate your child needs.

I recently came across a page below that listed the Symptoms of Dyslexia shown at the bottom of this page. The challenge is these Dyslexia Symptoms define a child who learns differently and who has attention, eye-teaming and anxiety challenges.

From our perspective, this student would benefit most from a hands-on program that identifies and addresses the relevant issue, while teaching the student the way the student learns best.

– Word identification in a way that works for these students. We call these students visual-spatial learners — and the visual spatial learner often learns best from whole to part — and learns to recognize whole words far better than from syllable to syllable

– Attention issues — ADHD medication is one option, but so are tools like the Interactive Metronome (R) and Brain Gym Exercises (R)

– Eye-teaming challenges — often called the invisible disability that result in students skipping words and lines when reading

– Anxiety — that could be addressed with breathing, visualization and calming exercises.

– Reading comprehension in a way that leads to faster and more significant gains — we use Reading Plus (R) to do that

– Parenting challenges — of how to help a child who learns differently and who often has attention, eye-teaming, anxiety and related issues

3D Learner offers a very different approach. Rather than offer a traditional dyslexia program, we offer one that teaches the way many dyslexic students learn, while